Business Model & Requirements
Nobilia North America's Business Model
Nobilia North America operates with a unique cross-border business model that requires specialized ERP capabilities to manage effectively:
Manufacturing in Germany
Parent company manufactures cabinets in Germany. The German operation uses its own separate system.
Order Processing
U.S. office takes customer orders, creates purchase orders to the German parent company.
Import & Logistics
Cabinets are shipped to U.S. ports, requiring landed cost tracking (freight, duties, customs).
Inventory Management
Products are received at U.S. warehouses and tracked in inventory.
Project Management
Each installation is managed as a project in Procore (industry-standard project management tool).
Installation
Field teams install cabinets at customer sites, with time tracking and project completion.
Key Business Challenges
- Managing multi-currency transactions (EUR for German manufacturing, USD for U.S. operations)
- Tracking true landed costs of imported cabinets
- Maintaining visibility across the entire order-to-installation process
- Integrating with Procore for project management
- Starting from ground zero with few established processes
ERP Requirements
Based on Nobilia North America's business model, the following requirements are critical for ERP selection:
Procore Integration
Must have a native, real-time connector to Procore for project management, as this is an industry standard and non-negotiable.
Multi-Currency/Multi-Entity
Must handle EUR/USD transactions and support inter-company operations between German parent and U.S. subsidiary.
Landed Cost Tracking
Must allocate freight, duties, and customs fees to imported products for accurate cost and margin calculations.
Inventory Management
Must support multi-warehouse inventory, transfers, and allocation to projects/installations.
Sales & CRM
Should include native CRM capabilities to avoid bolt-on solutions and maintain a single source of truth.
Project Accounting
Must track costs, labor, and materials at the project level for installation profitability analysis.
Starting from Ground Zero
With little to no established processes currently in place, Nobilia North America has the opportunity to design optimal workflows from the beginning rather than adapting to legacy systems. This requires an ERP that is:
- Flexible enough to adapt as processes mature
- Structured enough to enforce best practices
- Scalable to grow with the business
- User-friendly to encourage adoption